Manchester officer cleared of assault, resigns

MANCHESTER — Manchester Police Officer William Soucy, who had been found innocent of domestic-related assault last month but was still subject to an internal affairs investigation, resigned this week, a Manchester police official said Thursday.

For months, Soucy had worked on modified duty, following his July arrest on the domestic-related assault in Hookett. However, in late March — as he awaited the verdict in his trial — Soucy was placed on administrative leave because the Police Standards and Training Council had suspended his certification to be a police officer.

He was found innocent days after his certification was suspended. Without a certificate, he could not return to work.

The Council lifted the suspension on Tuesday, said Tim Merrill, an official with the Police Standards and Training Council. Soucy, who had been a Manchester police officer for almost 10 years, resigned the following day.

The city Human Resources Department said his annual salary was $69,000, and he will receive accumulated vacation time. An officer must work for 15 years to receive unused sick time upon severance.

Earlier this month, Willard said Soucy was under both an internal and a criminal investigation. He did not elaborate, but a lawyer for Soucy's former girlfriend said Soucy had contacted a mutual acquaintance before his March trial.

Doing so could have been a violation of bail conditions, said the lawyer, Joe Kelly Levasseur.

Willard said police sent the criminal investigation to the Hillsborough County Attorney's Office, which determined the criminal complaint was unfounded.